SYDNEY
\nFamily and team-mates paid tribute to \u201cinfectious\u201d Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes on Wednesday, 10 years since he died after being struck on the neck while batting.
\nHughes, who played 26 Tests, died from bleeding on the brain after he was hit by a rising ball during a domestic match at the Sydney Cricket Ground in November 2014.
\nImages of the 25-year-old lying helpless on the pitch as players rushed to his aid shocked the world cricket community and his death sparked an outpouring of grief and calls to make the game safer.
\n\u201cPhillip was a loving, humorous and an infectious person to be around,\u201d his family said in a statement released on the 10-year anniversary of his death. \u201cHe played cricket for all the right reasons and had the ability to take it all in his stride.
\n\u201cHe loved being a part of a team and representing Australia for the game he loved so deeply.\u201d
\nFast bowler Sean Abbott, who delivered the fatal bouncer, was visibly emotional during a tribute to Hughes before a domestic fixture on Wednesday.
\nAbbott, part of Australia\u2019s winning squad for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, dabbed at his eyes as team-mates rallied to console him.
\nFormer team-mate David Warner said Hughes would have been just as good, \u201cif not better\u201d, than himself and fellow batting great Steve Smith.
\n\u201cI\u2019d like to think he was probably a more complete player than what I was,\u201d he told Australia\u2019s NewsCorp.
\nDarren Lehmann \u2014 Australia\u2019s coach at the time of Hughes\u2019 death \u2014 said the promising batsman would have gone on to play \u201c120 Test matches, there\u2019s no doubt about that\u201d.
\n\u201cHe would\u2019ve just gone from strength to strength, the way he played,\u201d he told national broadcaster ABC.
\nCricket Australia said Hughes\u2019 memory would live \u201cforever in our hearts\u201d, declaring he would be \u201cforever 63 not out\u201d \u2014 his score at the time he was struck.
\nAbbott told a coroner\u2019s court in 2016 of his struggle to process Hughes\u2019 death.
\n\u201cIt was all a bit of a blur and I felt like I was in a bit of a daze. These feelings stayed with me for the next few days.\u201d
\nCricket Australia has announced a series of events to honour Hughes, coinciding with the second Test between Australia and India beginning December 6.
\nPlayers in upcoming domestic matches across the country will wear black armbands in Hughes\u2019 memory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SYDNEY Family and team-mates paid tribute to \u201cinfectious\u201d Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes on Wednesday, 10 years since he died after being struck on the neck while batting. Hughes, who played 26 Tests, died from bleeding on the brain after he was hit by a rising ball during a domestic match at the Sydney Cricket Ground […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":446388,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-446361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n